Trump’s New Year’s resolution, of ‘Peace, Peace on earth’, is off to the best of starts so far. Having invaded Venezuela, performed strikes in the capital of Caracas. and incarcerated their President Nicholas Maduro and his wife, he then listed other countries he had his eyes on acquiring, so it begs the question: who’s really next? His actions in Venezuela can be explained by 3 major factors: drug trafficking, natural resources, and suppression of the left wing government.
Trump repeatedly called out Venezuela as a major drug threat to the US, citing this as the reason for his strikes on ‘Drug boats’ on the coast of Venezuela. But counternarcotic experts say Venezuela is a relatively small player in drug trafficking, acting solely as a transit country. Trump also openly stated his interest in Venezuela’s natural resources as the country is sitting on 303 billion barrels of crude oil, the largest reserve in the world. More importantly, the country is an enormous source of the rare-earth minerals, that Trump wants. At the same time it is important to Trump to suppress left-wing governments such as those in Cuba and Nicaragua.
Or it could have just been Nicholas Maduro making fun of Trump’s dancing online! Nevertheless, based on this reasoning, how does Venezuela compare to those other countries he has mentioned having an interest in?
Greenland – natural resources and national security
Trump’s offer in his first term to buy Greenland was turned down and called ‘Absurd’ by the Danish prime minister. Greenland has been a part of the kingdom of Denmark for longer than the US has existed. Trump says that he needs Greenland to ensure national security and for a time he threatened to take it by any means necessary, including military action. Worrying about Russia’s control in the Arctic Circle, as melting polar ice means that more shipping routes are open, he claims it is ‘covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place’. Denmark’s other allies in NATO have been united in their opposition to the idea.
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Unlike Venezuela, Greenland does not send drugs to the US or have a socialist government, but it does have those natural resources that Trump loves. Rare earth minerals required for smartphones and electric vehicles are found here, as well as oil.
Columbia next?
Not long after he invaded Venezuela, neighbouring country Colombia was threatened by Trump with similar action.Their current president is Gustavo Petro, a left-wing socialist and, given cocaine exports being the highest globally, it bears glaring similarities to Venezuela. In addition to this, their natural resources are highly regarded with significant oil stores as well as gold, silver, and emeralds.
Unlike Venezuela, it seems like the vast majority of Colombians are completely against a regime change by the US, as shown by protests held across the country after Trump agreed with the idea of an invasion, saying ‘Sounds good to me’. This, combined with Colombia’s larger population, economy, and GDP per capita than Venezuela, would make an operation there much more serious.
Iran – ‘help is on the way’
Having experienced nationwide protests, Iran shut down their internet, but the little information released from the country makes the situation there seem dire. Trump said he would step in if the government started killing people, which it is now clear it did.Trump, having stepped back from threatening strikes on the capital and a full-scale invasion has now ordered a US military build-up in the Gulf. Iran has the second-largest natural gas store and one of the largest crude oil stores of any country, along with other minerals. In parallel to Venezuela, it has a government that Trump opposes.
Cuba – regime change
Venezuela and Cuba have had a long-standing relationship with each other, with oil from Venezuela shipped into the Caribbean island in return for doctors and military personnel. The US is attempting to stop oil from getting into Cuba as a tactic to end the regime, and when asked about an invasion, Trump stated that the country “Looks like it’s going down.”
Double standards?
At the end of the day, it’s insane that the United States is able to talk so freely about taking countries with very little pushback from others. It seems we have a double standard; we look down on Putin’s attempt on Ukraine and Xi Jinping’s on Taiwan, both highly condemned. But when the United States does the same, are we more inclined to agree because we are the good guys?
Maybe not anymore.
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